Trouble Times Two

Chapter Forty-Five

Sunday

Lola, Courtney, Arthur and I had just been chilling when we hear loud music from the apartment Donovan and I are staying in and we all get annoyed as ten minutes later, somebody knocks on our door loudly and we all go to answer.

The neighbours are here and we all are at the door.

"Oh you're here and he's out there, so who's in your apartment?" We all look at who Randy in 6B is pointing at and we Donovan in the hallway, knocked out.

"We'll check it out now, thanks Randy." Arthur says as he grabs some bats and shit and we lock their apartment everywhere and then we grab Donovan and take him down the stairs and then go into the apartment.

The music is blaring still and we don't turn it off until we've checked every room and when we knows it's clear, we check the camera and watch as Donovan stumbles into apartment, drunk at midnight, turns on the music and accidentally makes it too loud and then watch as he leaves, locks the door from the outside camera and then stumbles to the stairs which we can see him trying to climb before he leaves the frame.

"What a guy." I say as I haul him up and take him to his room and throw him onto his bed, before securing him so he doesn't roll into his back, putting the blanket over him and tucking him in. I grab the last waterbottle from his packet that I bought and left into his room and put some ginger crystals from whole foods on his side table from his draw and take the rest for my room.

"You do that a lot, huh?" Lola asks me and I nod.

"I guess it just feels routine to me now." I say but I'm lying, it always felt routine as I always did it for my siblings when they'd get home drink when I was still living with them at Joni's.

It was an okay job but it got scary when my brothers would try to play fight with me and would punch me as if I was another one of their adult friends and it hurt me a lot as I just used to be a small kid.

I punched them back when they tried that shit with me after I got back from wilderness.

"I don't know what's going. I'm starting to lose hope. I talk to his family everyday and I lie to them." She sits down next to him and just stares at him. She hits him lightly but then hugs him and gets up to go. "I'm gonna go now, tell me if you need any help and I'll just be with Courtney and Arthur, I'm staying at theirs as it's too late to go back."

I nod and tell her goodbye before going to my own bed. The twin bed had served me well and I actually really loved this apartment which is why it has become my second property.

There would be tenants in here by the end of the month, a family, and I couldn't be happier to be able to gain passive income and have something to fall back as I built my portfolio while studying.

I was lucky that I had money to do all of this investing but I also would much rather have my family back, my whole family, siblings and all. I know it was too late and that I'd lost them to some truly evil people.

I sit on the sofa, my knee bouncing like crazy as I watch the film the pacifier - a favourite of mine and my siblings when we were younger. I bite my nails and sit watching the movie on repeat until the morning comes and Donovan leaves his room.

My nails are all bloodied and with my cracked knuckles, it doesn't look very pleasant but my eyes are glued on the stupid movie.

I stand up as Donovan hounds me to get ready and I do and grab my stuff before we meet Courtney and Arthur in the lobby before getting a cab back home.

I am silent the whole way and just mumble a response whenever someone speaks to me because I'm so immersed in this movie.

I'm in a trance.

I'm replaying every memory in my mind that I can remember with this movie and when I say goodbye to Stacie, she notices something is wrong.

"Are you okay?" She asks as she pulls me to the side.

"Yeah I'm just really into his movie." I respond before going back to watching it.

"How many times have you watched it? Your eyes are bloodshot, your nails are bloodied and I've watched you lick at your lip and bite your nails in intervals. What's going on?" She really is good at what she does.

"I've watched it like seven times. I never went to sleep." I admit.

She just hugs me.

"I hope you feel better, well and truly. Whatever is going on is causing a trance." I shake my head and sigh.

"You know Mrs. FB?" She nods. "Her wife." She nods again. "Holly is my sister. My biological sister."

She tries not to but she gasps. She hugs me again.

"Your file never mentions your immediately family." She holds me tight.

"I don't have them anymore. They all abandoned me. My parents died and the rest of them actually physically abandoned me by allowing my aunt and uncle to send me to wilderness. Holly was one of the worst people to me. It's weird because I can almost guess that she was shunned as soon as she came out. It's probably what made her so terrible." Stacie nods and then hugs me again. "I'll be fine Stacie. I always pull through."

"I know, but I'm worried about you. Call me if you need anything?" She pats my head.

"I will. Come and visit?" She smiles.

"Already planned. I'll message you." This time I hug her and start the process of boarding with everyone after saying goodbye to everyone.

When I get onto the plane, I watch that movie until I fall asleep.